Question

Knowing a horse’s weight (measured in pounds) is important information for a horse owner.The amount of feed and medicine dosages all depend on the horse’s weight. Most owners do not have the resources to have a scale large enough to weigh a horse, so other measurements are used to estimate the weight. Height (measured in hands) and girth and length (measured in inches) are common measurements for a horse. A sample of Suffolk Punch stallion measurements were taken from the website http://www.suffolkpunch.com/.

a. Calculate the linear correlation coefficient (Pearson’s product moment, r) between (1) height and weight, (2) girth and weight, and (3) length and weight.
b. What conclusions might you draw from your answers in part a?
c. Construct a scatter diagram for each pair of variables listed in part a.
d. Do the scatter diagrams support your answer in part b?
e. Based on this evidence, which measurement do you believe has the most potential as a predictor of weight? Explain your choice.